Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

When I started the sport of triathlon back in 2006, I was extremely dedicated to training my body to prepare for the sports of swimming, biking and running. I was obsessed with accomplishing specific workouts, at a certain pace/speed, while tracking my progress through completed distance/time. If I was swimming, biking or running faster than before, I thought I was improving. If I could cover more distance than a previous workout, I thought I was improving. With improvements, I thought I was becoming a "better" triathlete. Eventually, I realized that this was a false sense of security of my athletic worthiness. While I did improve my fitness, it was only a matter of time before I found myself injured. My body was struggling. But like many athletes, when I was able to train again, I kept doing the same things over and over, hoping for a different result. Although triathlon success continued to come my way through hard work and determination, I felt like I was always work...

For almost half the world population, rice is a staple food. But for much of the US population, rice is seen as a "bad" carbohydrate There are many varieties of rice but what they all have in common is that they contain carbohydrates, protein, trace amounts of fat and sodium and are gluten free.  Compared to white rice, brown rice is often viewed as the "healthy" rice. Whereas white rice appears to be nutritionally inferior to brown rice because it is a refined grain (bran and germ are removed during the milling process which removes B vitamins, iron and fiber), white rice is typically enriched with iron and B vitamins. Unlike brown rice, containing 3.5g of fiber per cup (cooked), white rice has less than 1 gram fiber. The noticeable difference between brown and white rice is that brown rice is a whole grain (the bran and germ are retained, which means it offers a good source of antioxidants, vitamin E and fiber).  But having said this, athletes shou...

We live in a very carb-phobic society. Despite their role in a healthy diet, alongside providing a great source of energy for athletes, many people feel guilty, anxious and uncomfortable around carbohydrate containing foods. When I work with an athlete who fears carbohydrates, I often explore the dialogue that goes on in the head when carbohydrates are (about to be) consumed. Not surprising, many athletes experience similar internal dialogue such as "carbs are bad" or "carbs will make me fat" or "I feel so bloated/heavy when I eat carbs." Although the psychology of eating is quite complex, it's interesting how many athletes have a similar list of foods that are either good/allowed or bad/off-limits. For example, in the past 12 months, have you found yourself recently consuming the following foods? Kombucha Kale Avocado Coconut oil Turmeric Bone Broth Bacon Eggs Butter Spaghetti squash Cauliflower rice Almond milk Almond butter C...

I just love writing my post race race report. It gives me an opportunity to immediately collect my post race thoughts, walk myself through the race experience and express my thoughts/feelings about my performance, so that I can look back and learn from the race. Well, sadly there is no race report to write about M2M.  Let me take you back a few days. On Friday evening, we had our typical pre-race team pizza party after packet pick-up at Carolina Triathlon. For all of our Trimarni key races, we provide pizza and a course discussion/execution talk to our athletes. We sat outside and stayed relatively comfortable since the sun was setting around 6:30pm. Although we knew there was a great chance for rain on Sunday, we provided our athletes with practical course execution information to ensure a great performance by everyone who was racing. Earlier that day (Friday), Julie, Justine and I (a few of our out-of-towners) did a tune-up swim (~2200) followed by a 20 mile E...

When things don’t go as planned, the disappointment of not fulfilling your hopes and expectations may cause you to interpret your effort as a failure. I am not strong. I am not fast. I am too heavy/fat. I am not talented. I will never be good enough. Everyone else is better than me. This training is not worth it.     In order to avoid the frustration and sadness that comes from a failed performance/effort (or setback), you may find yourself doubting your ability to improve or to make changes, so you give up. Letting go of your fear of failure may actually help you reach your goals. Every day you fill your mind with thoughts and that inner dialogue may falsely recognize your weaknesses. Ultimately, when you believe in your negative thoughts, you will have reason to give up. With this self-doubt, you may find yourself saying "this is too hard/it's not worth it."   As an athlete, you can't let fear of failing get in your way.     Fear of losing o...

Growing up, I was a lifeguard and a swimmer. In the summer, I spent almost all day, every day in the sun. Thankfully, I take after my dad and my skin browns and rarely burns. My brother, however, took after my mom with his light skin. His body does not like the sun. However, this doesn't mean that I don't still think about sun safety. If anything, as I age (just shy of turning 35 at the end of the month), I am more and more mindful of what I put in and on my body.  Swimmer turned triathlete, I now race exclusively outside and much of my training is outside. Although I keep my body pretty well covered with tight fitting clothing when I train/race (yay for short sleeve tri tops and tri suits being all the rage these days!), I always consider my exposed skin and the damage that can be done to my skin by the sun when I am out training or racing. Because of my active lifestyle, I'm always on the hunt for a sunscreen that protects my skin and is free from chemicals. Whi...

Throughout my teenage years, I always felt a bit like an outsider. Although I had a lot of friends in the "popular" crowd, I felt I was too unique to be part of any one group. I expressed my individuality through my words, actions and clothing. Although at times, I think I had my parents a bit worried with too much freedom to be myself, I don't think I would be who I am today without being the desire to be a little different. This desire to be different required a lot of self-confidence, which was certainly a work in progress through my teenage and adult years. As it relates to starting my own business at the age of 30, not giving up on a 6-year higher education journey (Master degree then RD credential), alongside maintaining great enjoyment for an active lifestyle for the past 25 years, I've constantly resisted the temptation to be normal - or in other words, I've boldly followed my dreams instead of choosing the safe and easy route. I never worried what ot...